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Tutorial Manual
2013
Build 6448
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Foundation in overconsolidated clay 7
1.1 Case A: Rigid foundation 8
1.2 Case B: Raft foundation 20
1.3 Case C: Pile-Raft foundation 27
2 Excavation in sand 33
2.1 Geometry 34
2.2 Mesh generation 39
2.3 Performing calculations 39
2.4 Viewing the results 42
3 Loading of a suction pile 47
3.1 Geometry 47
3.2 Mesh generation 50
3.3 Performing calculations 51
3.4 Viewing the results 52
4 Construction of a road embankment 53
4.1 Geometry 53
4.2 Mesh generation 57
4.3 Performing calculations 58
4.4 Viewing the results 61
4.5 Safety analysis 64
4.6 Using drains 67
5 Phased excavation of a shield tunnel 69
5.1 Geometry 69
5.2 Mesh generation 78
5.3 Performing calculations 79
5.4 Viewing the results 86
6 Rapid drawdown analysis 87
6.1 Geometry 87
6.2 Mesh generation 89
6.3 Performing calculations 90
6.4 Viewing the results 95
7 Dynamic analysis of a generator on an elastic foundation 97
7.1 Geometry 97
7.2 Mesh generation 100
7.3 Performing calculations 101
7.4 Viewing the results 104
8 Free vibration and earthquake analysis of a building 107
8.1 Geometry 107
8.2 Mesh generation 113
8.3 Performing calculations 113
8.4 Viewing the results 115
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 3
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Appendix A - Menu tree 119
Appendix B - Calculation scheme for initial stresses due to soil weight 123
4 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 3D 2013
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
PLAXIS is a nite element package that has been developed specically for the analysis
of deformation and stability in geotechnical engineering projects. The simple graphical
input procedures enable a quick generation of complex nite element models, and the
enhanced output facilities provide a detailed presentation of computational results. The
calculation itself is fully automated and based on robust numerical procedures. This
concept enables new users to work with the package after only a few hours of training.
Though the various tutorials deal with a wide range of interesting practical applications,
this Tutorial Manual is intended to help new users become familiar with PLAXIS 3D. The
tutorials should therefore not be used as a basis for practical projects.
Users are expected to have a basic understanding of soil mechanics and should be able
to work in a Windows environment. It is strongly recommended that the tutorials are
followed in the order that they appear in the manual.
The Tutorial Manual does not provide theoretical background information on the nite
element method, nor does it explain the details of the various soil models available in the
program. The latter can be found in the Material Models Manual, as included in the full
manual, and theoretical background is given in the Scientic Manual. For detailed
information on the available program features, the user is referred to the Reference
Manual. In addition to the full set of manuals, short courses are organised on a regular
basis at several places in the world to provide hands-on experience and background
information on the use of the program.
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 5
TUTORIAL MANUAL
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
1 FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
In this chapter a rst application of PLAXIS 3D is considered, namely the settlement of a
foundation in clay. This is the rst step in becoming familiar with the practical use of the
program.
The general procedures for the creation of a geometry, the generation of a nite element
mesh, the execution of a nite element calculation and the evaluation of the output results
are described here in detail. The information provided in this tutorial will be utilised in the
following tutorials. Therefore, it is important to complete this rst tutorial before
attempting any further tutorial examples.
18.0 m
75.0 m
75.0 m
Building
Clay
x
x
y
z
z = 0
z = -2
z = -40
40.0 m
Figure 1.1 Geometry of a square building on a raft foundation
GEOMETRY
This exercise deals with the construction and loading of a foundation of a square building
in a lightly overconsolidated lacustrine clay. Below the clay layer there is a stiff rock layer
that forms a natural boundary for the considered geometry. The rock layer is not included
in the geometry; instead an appropriate boundary condition is applied at the bottom of the
clay layer. The purpose of the exercise is to nd the settlement of the foundation.
The building consists of a basement level and 5 oors above the ground level (Figure
1.1). To reduce calculation time, only one-quarter of the building is modelled, using
symmetry boundary conditions along the lines of symmetry. To enable any possible
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 7
TUTORIAL MANUAL
mechanism in the clay and to avoid any inuence of the outer boundary, the model is
extended in both horizontal directions to a total width of 75 m.
The model is considered in three different cases:
Case A: The building is considered very stiff and rough. The basement is simulated by
means of non-porous linear elastic volume elements.
Case B: The structural forces are modelled as loads on a raft foundation.
Case C: Embedded piles are included in the model to reduce settlements.
1.1 CASE A: RIGID FOUNDATION
In this case, the building is considered to be very stiff. The basement is simulated by
terms of non-porous linear elastic volume elements. The total weight of the basement
corresponds to the total permanent and variable load of the building. This approach leads
to a very simple model and is therefore used as a rst exercise, but it has some
disadvantages. For example it does not give any information about the structural forces in
the foundation.
Objectives:
Starting a new project.
Creation of soil stratigraphy using a single borehole.
Creation of material data sets.
Creation of volumes using Create surface and Extrude tools.
Assigning material.
Local mesh renement.
Generation of mesh.
Generating initial stresses using the K
0
procedure.
Dening a Plastic calculation.
1.1.1 GEOMETRY INPUT
Start the PLAXIS 3D program. The Quick select dialog box will appear in which you
can select an existing project or create a new one (Figure 1.2).
Click Start a new project. The Project properties window appears, consisting of
Project and Model tabsheets.
Project properties
The rst step in every analysis is to set the basic parameters of the nite element model.
This is done in the Project properties window. These properties include the description of
the problem, the basic units and the size of the draw area.
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
Figure 1.2 Quick select dialog box
To enter the appropriate properties for the foundation calculation follow these steps:
In the Project tabsheet, enter "Tutorial 1" as the Title of the project and type
"Settlements of a foundation" in the Comments box (Figure 1.3).
Figure 1.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window
Proceed to the Model tabsheet by clicking either the Next button or the Model tab
(Figure 1.4).
Keep the default units in the Units box (Length = m; Force = kN; Time = day).
The General box indicates a xed gravity of 1.0 G, in the vertical direction downward
(-z). The value of the acceleration of gravity (1.0 G) can be specied in the Earth
gravity box. This should be kept to the default value of 9.810 m/s
2
for this exercise.
In the
water
box the unit weight of water can be dened. Keep this to the default
value of 10 kN/m
3
.
Dene the limits for the soil contour as x
min
= 0, x
max
= 75, y
min
= 0 and y
max
= 75 in
the Contour group box.
Click the OK button to conrm the settings.
Hint: In case of a mistake or for any other reason that the project properties need
to be changed, you can access the Project properties window by selecting
the corresponding option in the File menu.
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 9
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 1.4 Model tabsheet of the Project properties window
Denition of soil stratigraphy
When you click the OK button the Project properties window will close and the Soil mode
view will be shown. Information on the soil layers is entered in boreholes.
Boreholes are locations in the draw area at which the information on the position of soil
layers and the water table is given. If multiple boreholes are dened, PLAXIS 3D will
automatically interpolate between the boreholes, and derive the position of the soil layers
from the borehole information.
Hint: PLAXIS 3D can also deal with layers that are discontinuous, i.e. only locally
present in the model area. See Section 4.2.2 of the Reference Manual for
more information.
In the current example, only one soil layer is present, and only a single borehole is
needed to dene the soil stratigraphy. In order to dene the borehole, follow these steps:
Click the Create borehole button in the side toolbar to start dening the soil
stratigraphy. Click on position (0 0 0) in the geometry. A borehole will be located at
(x, y) = (0 0). The Modify soil layers window will appear.
In the Modify soil layers window add a soil layer by clicking on the Add button. Keep
the top boundary of the soil layer at z = 0 and set the bottom boundary to z = 40
m.
Set the Head value in the borehole column to 2 m (Figure 1.5).
The creation of material data sets and their assignment to soil layers is described in the
following section.
1.1.2 MATERIAL DATA SETS
In order to simulate the behaviour of the soil, a suitable material model and appropriate
material parameters must be assigned to the geometry. In PLAXIS soil properties are
collected in material data sets and the various data sets are stored in a material
database. From the database, a data set can be assigned to one or more clusters. For
structures (like beams, plates, etc.) the system is similar, but different types of structures
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
Figure 1.5 Modify soil layers window
have different parameters and therefore different types of data sets.
PLAXIS 3D distinguishes between material data sets for Soils and interfaces, Plates,
Geogrids, Beams, Embedded Piles and Anchors. Before the mesh can be generated
material data sets have to be assigned to all soil volumes and structures.
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Materials button in the Modify soil
layers window.
Hint: In the case that the Modify soil layers window was closed by mistake, it can
be re-opened by double-clicking the borehole in the draw area or by selecting
the Modify soil layers option from the Soil menu.
Click the New button in the lower part of the Material sets window. The Soil window
will appear. It contains ve tabsheets: General, Parameters, Flow parameters,
Interfaces and Initial.
In the Material set box of the General tabsheet (Figure 1.6), write "Lacustrine Clay"
in the Identication box.
Select Mohr-Coulomb as the material model from the Material model drop-down
menu and Drained from the Drainage type drop-down menu.
Enter the unit weights in the General properties box according to the material data
as listed in Table 1.1. Keep the unmentioned Advanced parameters as their default
values.
Click the Next button or click the Parameters tab to proceed with the input of model
parameters. The parameters appearing on the Parameters tabsheet depend on the
selected material model (in this case the Mohr-Coulomb model). The Mohr-Coulomb
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 1.6 General tabsheet of the Soil and interfaces data set window
Table 1.1 Material properties
Parameter Name Lacustrine clay Building Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Linear elastic
Drainage type Type Drained Non-porous
Unit weight above phreatic level
unsat
17.0 50 kN/m
3
Unit weight below phreatic level
sat
18.0 kN/m
3
Parameters
Young's modulus (constant) E' 1 10
4
3 10
7
kN/m
2
Poisson's ratio ' 0.3 0.15
Cohesion (constant) c'
ref
10 kN/m
2
Friction angle ' 30.0
Dilatancy angle 0.0
Initial
K
0
determination Automatic Automatic
Lateral earth pressure coefcient K
0
0.5000 1.000
model involves only ve basic parameters (E', ', c', ', '). See the Material Models
Manual for a detailed description of the different soil models and their corresponding
parameters.
Enter the model parameters E', ', c'
ref
, ' and of Lacustrine clay according to
Table 1.1 in the corresponding boxes of the Parameters tabsheet (Figure 1.7).
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
Figure 1.7 Parameters tabsheet of the Soil and interfaces data set window
No consolidation will be considered in this exercise. As a result, the permeability of
the soil will not inuence the results and the Flow parameters window can be
skipped.
Since the geometry model does not include interfaces, the Interfaces tab can be
skipped.
Click the Initial tab and check that the K
0
determination is set to Automatic. In that
case K
0
is determined from Jaky's formula: K
0
= 1 sin.
Click the OK button to conrm the input of the current material data set. The created
data set appears in the tree view of the Material sets window.
Drag the set Lacustrine clay from the Material sets window (select it and hold down
the left mouse button while moving) to the graph of the soil column on the left hand
side of the Modify soil layers window and drop it there (release the left mouse
button).
Hint: Notice that the cursor changes shape to indicate whether or not it is possible
to drop the data set. Correct assignment of the data set to the soil layer is
indicated by a change in the colour of the layer.
The building is modelled by a linear elastic non-porous material. To dene this data set,
follow these steps:
Click the New button in the Material sets window.
In the Material set box of the General tabsheet, write "Building" in the Identication
box.
Select Linear elastic as the material model from the Material model drop-down
menu and Non-porous from the Drainage type drop-down menu.
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
Enter the unit weight in the General properties box according to the material data set
as listed in Table 1.1. This unit weight corresponds to the total permanent and
variable load of the building.
Click the Next button or click the Parameters tab to proceed with the input of the
model parameters. The linear elastic model involves only two basic parameters (E',
').
Enter the model parameters of Table 1.1 in the corresponding edit boxes of the
Parameters tabsheet.
Click the OK button to conrm the input of the current material data set. The created
data set will appear in the tree view of the Material sets window, but it is not directly
used.
Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.
Click the OK button to close the Modify soil layers window.
Hint: PLAXIS 3D distinguishes between a project database and a global database
of material sets. Data sets may be exchanged from one project to another
using the global database. The global database can be shown in the Material
sets window by clicking the Show global button. The data sets of all tutorials
in the Tutorial Manual are stored in the global database during the installation
of the program.
1.1.3 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
The structural elements are created in the Structures mode of the program. Click the
Structures button to proceed with the input of structural elements. To model the building:
Click the Create surface button. Position the cursor at the coordinate (0 0 0). Check
the cursor position displayed in the cursor position indicator. As you click, the rst
surface point of the surface is dened.
Dene three other points with coordinates (0 18 0), (18 18 0), (18 0 0) respectively.
Press the right mouse button or <Esc> to nalize the denition of the surface. Note
that the created surface is still selected and displayed in red.
Click the Extrude object button to create a volume from the surface.
Change the z value to -2 in the Extrude window (Figure 1.8). Click the Apply button
to close the window.
Click the Select button. Select the created surface using the right mouse button.
Select Delete from the appearing menu. This will delete the surface but the building
volume is retained.
The building volume, as well as the corresponding material data sets have now been
created.
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
Figure 1.8 Extrude window
1.1.4 MESH GENERATION
The model is complete. In order to proceed to the Mesh mode click the Mesh tab.
PLAXIS 3D allows for a fully automatic mesh generation procedure, in which the
geometry is divided into volume elements and compatible structure elements, if
applicable. The mesh generation takes full account of the position of the geometry
entities in the geometry model, so that the exact position of layers, loads and structures is
accounted for in the nite element mesh. A local renement will be considered in the
building volume. To generate the mesh, follow these steps:
Click the Rene mesh button in the side toolbar and click the created building
volume to rene the mesh locally. It will colour green.
Figure 1.9 The indication of the local renement in the model
Click the Generate mesh button in the side toolbar or select the Generate mesh
option in the Mesh menu. Change the Element distribution to Coarse in the Mesh
options window (Figure 1.10) and click OK to start the mesh generation.
As the mesh is generated, click the View mesh button. A new window is opened
displaying the generated mesh (Figure 1.11).
Click the Close button to go back to the Mesh mode of the Input program.
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 1.10 Mesh options window
Figure 1.11 Generated mesh in the Output window
Hint: By default, the Element distribution is set to Medium. The Element
distribution setting can be changed in the Mesh options window. In addition,
options are available to rene the mesh globally or locally (Section 7.1 of
Reference Manual).
The nite element mesh has to be regenerated if the geometry is modied.
The automatically generated mesh may not be perfectly suitable for the
intended calculation. Therefore it is recommended that the user inspects the
mesh and makes renements if necessary.
1.1.5 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS
Once the mesh has been generated, the nite element model is complete. Click Staged
construction to proceed with the denition of calculation phases.
Initial conditions
The 'Initial phase' always involves the generation of initial conditions. In general, the initial
conditions comprise the initial geometry conguration and the initial stress state, i.e.
effective stresses, pore pressures and state parameters, if applicable. The initial water
level has been entered already in the Modify soil layers window. This level is taken into
account to calculate the initial effective stress state. It is therefore not needed to enter the
Water levels mode.
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
When a new project has been dened, a rst calculation phase named "Initial phase", is
automatically created and selected in the Phases explorer (Figure 1.12). All structural
elements and loads that are present in the geometry are initially automatically switched
off; only the soil volumes are initially active.
Figure 1.12 Phases explorer
In this tutorial lesson the properties of the Initial phase will be described. This part of the
tutorial gives an overview of the options to be dened even though the default values of
the parameters are used.
The Phases window (Figure 1.13) is displayed by clicking the Edit phase button or
by double clicking on the phase in the Phases explorer.
Figure 1.13 The Phases window for Initial phase
By default the K0 procedure is selected as Calculation type in the General subtree
of the Phases window. This option will be used in this project to generate the initial
stresses.
The Staged construction option is selected as the Loading type. This is the only
option available for the K0 procedure.
The Phreatic option is selected by default as the Pore pressure calculation type.
The other default options in the Phases window will be used as well in this tutorial.
Click OK to close the Phases window.
In the Model explorer extend the Model conditions subtree.
Extend the Water subtree. The water level generated according to the Head value
assigned to boreholes in the Modify soil layers window (BoreholeWaterLevel_1) is
automatically assigned to GlobalWaterLevel.
Make sure that all the soil volumes in the project are active and the material
assigned to them is Lacustrine clay.
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 17
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: The K0 procedure may only be used for horizontally layered geometries with
a horizontal ground surface and, if applicable, a horizontal phreatic level.
See Section 7.3 of the Reference Manual for more information on the K0
procedure.
Construction stage
After the denition of the initial conditions, the construction of the building can be
modelled. This will be done in a separate calculation phase, which needs to be added as
follows:
Click the Add button in the Phases explorer. A new phase, named Phase_1 will be
added in the Phases explorer.
Double-click Phase_1 to open the Phases window.
In the ID box of the General subtree, write (optionally) an appropriate name for the
new phase (for example "Building").
The current phase starts from Initial phase, which contains the initial stress state.
The default options and values assigned are valid for this phase (Figure 1.14).
Figure 1.14 The Phases window for Building phase
Click OK to close the Phases window.
Right-click the building volume as created in Section 1.1.3. From the Set material
option in the appearing menu select the Building option. The 'Building' data set has
now been assigned to the building volume.
Hint: Calculation phases may be added, inserted or deleted using the Add, Insert
and Delete buttons in the Phases explorer or in the Phases window.
Execution of calculation
All calculation phases (two phases in this case) are marked for calculation (indicated by a
blue arrow). The execution order is controlled by the Start from phase parameter.
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
Click the Calculate button to start the calculation process. Ignore the warning that
no nodes and stress points have been selected for curves. During the execution of a
calculation, a window appears which gives information about the progress of the
actual calculation phase (Figure 1.15).
Figure 1.15 Active task window displaying the calculation progress
The information, which is continuously updated, shows, amongst others, the calculation
progress, the current step number, the global error in the current iteration and the number
of plastic points in the current calculation step. It will take a few seconds to perform the
calculation. When a calculation ends, the window is closed and focus is returned to the
main window.
The phase list in the Phases explorer is updated. A successfully calculated phase is
indicated by a check mark inside a green circle.
Save the project before viewing results.
Viewing calculation results
Once the calculation has been completed, the results can be displayed in the Output
program. In the Output program, the displacement and stresses in the full three
dimensional model as well as in cross sections or structural elements can be viewed.
The computational results are also available in tabular form. To view the current results,
follow these steps:
Select the last calculation phase (Building) in the Phases explorer tree.
Click the View calculation results button in the side toolbar to open the Output
program. The Output program will, by default, show the three dimensional deformed
mesh at the end of the selected calculation phase. The deformations are scaled to
ensure that they are clearly visible.
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
Select Total Displacements |u| from the Deformations menu. The plot shows
colour shadings of the total displacements (Figure 1.16).
A legend is presented with the displacement values at the colour boundaries. When
the legend is not present, select the Legend option from the View menu to display it.
In the Output window click the Iso surfaces button to display the areas having the
same displacement.
Figure 1.16 Shadings of Total displacements at the end of the last phase
Hint: In addition to the Total displacements, the Deformations menu allows for the
presentation of Incremental displacements and Phase displacements.
The incremental displacements are the displacements that occurred in one
calculation step (in this case the nal step). Incremental displacements may
be helpful in visualising failure mechanisms.
Phase displacements are the displacements that occurred in one calculation
phase (in this case the last phase). Phase displacements can be used to
inspect the impact of a single construction phase, without the need to reset
displacements to zero before starting the phase.
1.2 CASE B: RAFT FOUNDATION
In this case, the model is modied so that the basement consists of structural elements.
This allows for the calculation of structural forces in the foundation. The raft foundation
consists of a 50 cm thick concrete oor stiffened by concrete beams. The walls of the
basement consist of 30 cm thick concrete. The loads of the upper oors are transferred
to the oor slab by a column and by the basement walls. The column bears a load of
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
11650 kN and the walls carry a line load of 385 kN/m, as sketched in Figure 1.17.
12.0 m
12.0 m
6.0 m
6.0 m
385 kN/m
385 kN/m
11650 kN
5.3 kN/m
2
Figure 1.17 Geometry of the basement
In addition, the oor slab is loaded by a distributed load of 5.3 kN/m
2
. The properties of
the clay layer will be modied such that stiffness of the clay will increase with depth.
Objectives:
Saving project under a different name.
Modifying existing data sets.
Dening a soil stiffness that increases with depth.
Modelling of plates and dening material data set for plates.
Modelling of beams and dening material data set for beams.
Assigning point loads.
Assigning line loads.
Assigning distributed loads to surfaces.
Deleting phases.
Activation and deactivation of soil volumes.
Activation and deactivation of structural elements.
Activation of loads.
Zooming in Output.
Drawing cross sections in Output.
Viewing structural output.
Geometry input
The geometry used in this exercise is the same as the previous one, except that
additional elements are used to model the foundation. It is not necessary to create a new
model; you can start from the previous model, store it under a different name and modify
it. To perform this, follow these steps:
Start the PLAXIS 3D program. The Quick select dialog box will appear in which the
project of case A should be selected.
Select the Save project as option in the File menu to save the project under a
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 21
TUTORIAL MANUAL
different name (e.g. "Tutorial 1b").
The material set for the clay layer has already been dened. To modify this material set to
take into account the stiffness of the soil increasing with depth, follow these steps:
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Show materials button.
Make sure that the option Soil and interfaces is selected as Set type.
Select the Lacustrine clay material set and click the Edit button.
In the Parameters tabsheet, change the stiffness of the soil E' to 5000 kN/m
2
.
Enter a value of 500 in the E'
inc
box in the Advanced parameters. Keep the default
value of 0.0 m for z
ref
. Now the stiffness of the soil is dened as 5000 kN/m
2
at
z = 0.0 m and increases with 500 kN/m
2
per meter depth.
Click OK to close the Soil window.
Click OK to close the Material sets window.
Denition of structural elements
Proceed to the Structures mode to dene the structural elements that compose the
basement.
Click the Selection button.
Right-click the volume representing the building. Select the Decompose into
surfaces option from the appearing menu.
Delete the top surface by selecting it and pressing the <Delete> key.
Select the volume representing the building. Click the visualisation toggle in the
Selection explorer to hide the volume.
Right-click the bottom surface of the building. Select the Create plate option from
the appearing menu.
Assign plates to the two vertical basement surfaces that are inside the model.
Delete the remaining two vertical surfaces at the model boundaries.
Hint: Multiple entities can be selected by holding the <Ctrl> button pressed while
clicking on the entities.
A feature can be assigned to multiple similar objects the same way as to a
single selection.
Open the material data base and set the Set type to Plates.
Create data sets for the basement oor and for the basement walls according to
Table 1.2.
Drag and drop the data sets to the basement oor and the basement walls
accordingly. It may be needed to move the Material sets window by clicking at its
header and dragging it.
Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.
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FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
Figure 1.18 Location of plates in the project
Table 1.2 Material properties of the basement oor and basement walls
Parameter Name Basement oor Basement wall Unit
Thickness d 0.5 0.3 m
Weight 15 15.5 kN/m
3
Type of behaviour Type Linear, isotropic Linear, isotropic
Young's modulus E
1
3 10
7
3 10
7
kN/m
2
Poisson's ratio
12
0.15 0.15
Hint: When specifying a unit weight, please consider the fact that the element itself
does not occupy any volume and overlaps with the soil elements. Hence, it
might be considered to subtract the unit soil weight from the real unit weight
of the plate, beam or embedded pile material in order to compensate for the
overlap. For partially overlapping plates, beams or embedded piles the
reduction of the unit weight should be proportional.
Right-click the bottom of the surface of the building volume and select the Create
surface load option from the appearing menu. The actual value of the load can be
assigned in the Structures mode as well as when the calculation phases will be
dened (Phase denition mode). In this example, the value will be assigned in the
Phase denition modes.
Click the Create line button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create line load option from the additional tools displayed.
Click the command input area, type "0 18 0 18 18 0 18 0 0 " and press <Enter>.
Line loads will now be dened on the basement walls. The dened values are the
coordinates of the three points of the lines. Click the right mouse button to stop
drawing line loads.
Click the Create line button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create beam option from the additional tools displayed.
Click on (6 6 0) to create the rst point of a vertical beam. Keep the <Shift> key
pressed and move the mouse cursor to (6 6 -2). Note that while the <Shift> key is
pressed the cursor will move only vertically. As it can be seen in the cursor position
indicator, the z coordinate changes, while x and y coordinates will remain the same.
Click on (6 6 -2) to dene the second point of the beam. To stop drawing click the
PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 23
TUTORIAL MANUAL
right mouse button.
Create horizontal beams from (0 6 -2) to (18 6 -2) and from (6 0 -2) to (6 18 -2).
Hint: By default, the cursor is located at z=0. To move in the vertical direction,
keep the <Shift> key pressed while moving the mouse.
Open the material data base and set the Set type to Beams.
Create data sets for the horizontal and for the vertical beams according to Table 1.3.
Assign the data set to the corresponding beam elements by drag and drop.
Table 1.3 Material properties of the basement column and basement beams
Parameter Name Basement column Basement beam Unit
Cross section area A 0.49 0.7 m
2
Volumetric weight 24.0 6.0 kN/m
3
Type of behaviour Type Linear Linear
Young's modulus E 3 10
7
3 10
7
kN/m
2
Moment of Inertia I
3
0.020 0.058 m
4
I
2
0.020 0.029 m
4
Click the Create load button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create point load option from the additional tools displayed. Click at (6 6
0) to add a point load at the top of the vertical beam.
Proceed to the Mesh tabsheet to generate the mesh.
Mesh generation
Click the Generate mesh. Keep the Element distribution as Coarse.
Inspect the generated mesh.
As the geometry has changed, all calculation phases have to be redened.
1.2.1 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS
Proceed to the Staged construction mode.
Initial conditions
As in the previous example, the K
0
procedure will be used to generate the initial
conditions.
All the structural elements should be inactive in the Initial Phase.
No excavation is performed in the Initial Phase. So, the basement volume should be
active and the material assigned to it should be Lacustrine clay.
Construction stages
Instead of constructing the building in one calculation stage, separate calculation phases
will be used. In Phase 1, the construction of the walls and the excavation is modelled. In
Phase 2, the construction of the oor and beams is modelled. The activation of the loads
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is modelled in the last phase (Phase 3).
The calculation type for the phases representing the construction stages is set by
default to Plastic.
Rename the Phase_1 to "Excavation".
Deactivate the soil volume located over the foundation by selecting it and by clicking
on the checkbox in front of it in the Selection explorer.
In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the plates corresponding to the
basement walls to activate them.
In the Phases explorer click the Add phase button. A new phase (Phase_2) is
added. Double-click Phase_2. The Phases window pops up.
Rename the phase by dening its ID as "Construction". Keep the default settings of
the phase and close the Phases window.
In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the plate corresponding to the
basement oor to activate it.
In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the beams to activate all the
beams in the project.
Add a new phase following the Construction phase. Rename it to "Loading".
In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the Surface loads to activate the
surface load on the basement oor. Set the value of the zcomponent of the load to
5.3. This indicates a load of 5.3 kN/m
2
, acting in the negative zdirection.
In the Model explorer, click the checkbox in front of Line loads to activate the line
loads on the basement walls. Set the value of the zcomponent of each load to
385. This indicates a load of 385 kN/m, acting in the negative zdirection.
In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of Point loads to activate the point
load on the basement column. Set the value of the zcomponent of the load to
11650. This indicates a load of 11650 kN, acting in the negative zdirection.
Click the Preview phase button to check the settings for each phase.
As the calculation phases are completely dened, calculate the project. Ignore the
warning that no nodes and stress points have been selected for curves.
Save the project after the calculation.
Viewing calculation results
Select Construction option in the Phases explorer.
Click the View calculation results button to open the Output program. The deformed
mesh at the end of this phase is shown.
Select the last phase in the Displayed step drop-down menu to switch to the results
at the end of the last phase.
In order to evaluate stresses and deformations inside the geometry, select the
Vertical cross section tool. A top view of the geometry is presented and the Cross
section points window appears. As the largest displacements appear under the
column, a cross section here is most interesting.
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Enter (0.0 6.0) and (75.0 6.0) as the coordinates of the rst point (A) and the second
point (A') respectively in the Cross section points window.
Click OK. A vertical cross section is presented. The cross section can be rotated in
the same way as a regular 3D view of the geometry.
Select Total displacements u
z
from the Deformations menu (Figure 1.19). The
maximum and minimum values of the vertical displacements are shown in the
caption. If the title is not visible, select this option from the View menu.
Figure 1.19 Cross section showing the total vertical displacement
Press <CTRL><+> and <CTRL><> to move the cross section.
Return to the three dimensional view of the geometry by selecting this window from
the list in the Window menu.
Double-click the oor. A separate window will appear showing the displacements of
the oor. To look at the bending moments in the oor, select M
11
from the Forces
menu.
Click the Shadings button. The plot in Figure 1.20 will be displayed.
To view the bending moments in tabulated form, click the Table option in the Tools
menu. A new window is opened in which a table is presented, showing the values of
bending moments in each node of the oor.
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Figure 1.20 Bending moments in the basement oor
1.3 CASE C: PILE-RAFT FOUNDATION
As the displacements of the raft foundation are rather high, embedded piles will be used
to decrease these displacements. These embedded piles represent bored piles with a
length of 20 m and a diameter of 1.5 m.
Objectives:
Using embedded piles.
Dening material data set for embedded piles.
Creating multiple copies of entities.
Geometry input
The geometry used in this exercise is the same as the previous one, except for the pile
foundation. It is not necessary to create a new model; you can start from the previous
model, store it under a different name and modify it. To perform this, follow these steps:
Start the PLAXIS 3D program. The Quick select dialog box will appear in which the
project of Case B should be selected.
Select the Save project as option in the File menu to save the project under a
different name (e.g. "Tutorial 1c").
Denition of embedded pile
Proceed to the Structures mode.
Click the Create line button at the side tool bar and select the Create embedded pile
from the additional tools that appear.
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Dene a pile from (6 6 -2) to (6 6 -22).
Open the material data base and set the Set type to Embedded piles.
Create a data set for the embedded pile according to Table 1.4. The value for the
cross section area A and the moments of inertia I
2
, I
3
and I
23
are automatically
calculated from the diameter of the massive circular pile. Conrm the input by
clicking OK.
Table 1.4 Material properties of embedded pile
Parameter Name Pile foundation Unit
Young's modulus E 3 10
7
kN/m
2
Unit weight 6.0 kN/m
3
Pile type - Predened
Predened pile type - Massive circular pile
Diameter Diameter 1.5 m
Skin resistance Type Linear
Maximum traction allowed at the top of the
embedded pile
T
top,max
200 kN/m
Maximum traction allowed at the bottom of
the embedded pile
T
bot ,max
500 kN/m
Base resistance F
max
1 10
4
kN
Drag and drop the Pile data to the embedded pile in the draw area. The embedded
pile will change colour to indicate that the material set has been assigned
successfully.
Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.
Hint: A material set can also be assigned to an embedded pile by right-clicking it
either in the draw area or in the Selection explorer and the Model explorer
and selecting the material from the Set material option in the displayed menu.
Click the Select button and select the embedded pile.
Click the Create array button.
In the Create array window, select the 2D, in xy plane option for shape.
Keep the number of columns as 2. Set the distance between the columns to x = 12
and y = 0.
Keep the number of rows as 2. Set the distance between the rows to x = 0 and
y = 12 (Figure 1.21).
Press OK to create the array. A total of 2x2 = 4 piles will be created.
Mesh generation
As the geometry model is complete now, the mesh can be generated.
Create the mesh. Keep the Element distribution as Coarse.
View the mesh.
Click the eye button in front of the Soil subtree in the Model explorer to hide the soil.
The embedded piles can be seen (Figure 1.22).
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Figure 1.21 Create array window
Close the mesh preview.
Figure 1.22 Partial geometry of the model in the Output
Performing calculations
After generation of the mesh, all construction stages must be redened. Even though in
practice the piles will be constructed in another construction stage than construction of
the walls, for simplicity both actions will be done in the same construction stage in this
tutorial. To redene all construction stages, follow these steps:
Switch to the Staged construction mode.
Check if the K0 procedure is selected as Calculation type for the initial phase. Make
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sure that all the structural elements are inactive and all soil volumes are active. The
material assigned to it is Lacustrine clay.
Select the Excavation phase in the Phases explorer.
Make sure that the basement soil is excavated and the basement walls are active.
Activate all the embedded piles.
In the Phases explorer select the Construction phase. Make sure that all the
structural elements are active.
In the Phases explorer select the Loading phase. Make sure that all the structural
elements and loads are active.
Calculate the project.
Save the project after the calculation is nished.
Select the Loading phase and view the calculation results.
Double-click the basement oor. Select the M
11
option from the Forces menu. The
results are shown in Figure 1.23.
Figure 1.23 Bending moments in the basement oor
Select the view corresponding to the deformed mesh in the Window menu.
Click the Hide soil button in the side toolbar.
To view the embedded piles press <Shift> and keep it pressed while clicking on the
soil volume in order to hide it.
Click the Select structures button. To view all the embedded piles, press
<Ctrl>+<Shift> keys and double click on one of the piles.
Select the option N in the Forces menu to view the axial loads in the embedded
piles. The plot is shown in Figure 1.24.
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Figure 1.24 Resulting axial forces (N) in the embedded piles
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2 EXCAVATION IN SAND
This tutorial describes the construction of an excavation pit in soft clay and sand layers.
The pit is a relatively small excavation of 12 by 20 m, excavated to a depth of 6.5 m below
the surface. Struts, walings and ground anchors are used to prevent the pit to collapse.
After the full excavation, an additional surface load is added on one side of the pit.
50.0 m
80.0 m
(30 20) (50 20)
(30 32) (50 32)
Strut
Ground anchors
(34 19) (41 19)
(34 12) (41 12)
4.0 m
4.0 m
4.0 m
5.0 m 5.0 m 5.0 m 5.0 m
Figure 2.1 Top view of the excavation pit
The proposed geometry for this exercise is 80 m wide and 50 m long, as shown in Figure
2.1. The excavation pit is placed in the center of the geometry. Figure 2.2 shows a cross
section of the excavation pit with the soil layers. The clay layer is considered to be
impermeable.
Objectives:
Using the Hardening Soil model
Modelling of ground anchors
Using interface features
Dening over-consolidation ratio (OCR)
Prestressing a ground anchor
Changing water conditions
Selection of stress points to generate stress/strain curves
Viewing plastic points
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
z = 0
z = -1
z = -4
z = -9.5
z = -11
z = -20
Fill
Sand
Sand
Soft clay
Sheet pile walls
(62 24 -9) (18 24 -9)
Figure 2.2 Cross section of the excavation pit with the soil layers
2.1 GEOMETRY
To create the geometry model, follow these steps:
Project properties
Start a new project.
Enter an appropriate title for the project.
Dene the limits for the soil contour as x
min
= 0, x
max
= 80, y
min
= 0 and y
max
= 50.
2.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY
In order to dene the soil layers, a borehole needs to be added and material properties
must be assigned. As all soil layers are horizontal, only a single borehole is needed.
Create a borehole at (0.0 0.0). The Modify soil layers window pops up.
Add 4 layers with bottom levels at -1, -9.5, -11, -20. Set the Head in the borehole
column to -4 m.
Open the Material sets window.
Create a new data set under Soil and interfaces set type.
Identify the new data set as "Fill".
From the Material model drop-down menu, select Hardening Soil model. In contrast
with the Mohr-Coulomb model, the Hardening Soil model takes into account the
difference in stiffness between virgin-loading and unloading-reloading. For a
detailed description of the Hardening Soil model, see the Chapter 6 in the Material
Models Manual.
Dene the saturated and unsaturated unit weights according to Table 2.1.
In the Parameters tabsheet, enter values for E
ref
50
, E
ref
oed
, E
ref
ur
, m, c'
ref
, '
ref
, and
'
ur
according to Table 2.1. Note that Poisson's ratio is an advanced parameter.
As no consolidation will be considered in this exercise, the permeability of the soil
will not inuence the results. Therefore, the default values can be kept in the Flow
parameters tabsheet.
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Table 2.1 Material properties for the soil layers
Parameter Name Fill Sand Soft Clay Unit
General
Material model Model Hardening Soil
model
Hardening Soil
model
Hardening Soil
model
unsat
16 17 8 15 kN/m
3
Soil unit weight below
phreatic level
sat
19 20 12 18 kN/m
3
Initial void ratio e
init
0.5 0.5 2.0 1.0 -
Parameters
Secant stiffness in
standard drained
triaxial test
E
ref
50
2.5 10
4
3.5 10
4
- - kN/m
2
Tangent stiffness for
primary oedometer
loading
E
ref
oed
2.5 10
4
3.5 10
4
- - kN/m
2
Unloading / reloading
stiffness
E
ref
ur
7.5 10
4
1.05 10
5
- - kN/m
2
Power for stress-level
dependency of stiffness
m 0.5 0.5 - - -
Modied compression
index
- - 0.15 0.05 -
Modied swelling index
- - 0.03 0.01 -
Cohesion c
ref
' 1.0 0.0 2.0 1.0 kN/m
2
Friction angle ' 30.0 33.0 23.0 25.0
Dilatancy angle 0.0 3.0 0.0 0.0
Advanced: Set to
default
- Yes Yes Yes Yes -
Flow parameters
Data set - USDA USDA USDA USDA -
Model - Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
-
Soil type - Loamy sand Sand Clay Clay -
< 2m - 6.0 4.0 70.0 70.0 %
2m 50m - 11.0 4.0 13.0 13.0 %
50m 2mm - 83.0 92.0 17.0 17.0 %
Set to default - Yes Yes No Yes -
Horizontal permeability
(x-direction)
k
x
3.499 7.128 0.1 0.04752 m/day
Horizontal permeability
(y-direction)
k
y
3.499 7.128 0.1 0.04752 m/day
Vertical permeability k
z
3.499 7.128 0.02 0.04752 m/day
Change in permeability c
k
1 10
15
1 10
15
1.0 0.2 -
Interfaces
Interface strength Rigid Rigid Rigid Rigid -
Strength reduction
factor
R
inter
1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 -
Initial
K
0
determination Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic -
Over-consolidation ratio OCR 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 -
Pre-overburden
pressure
POP 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 kN/m
2
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4.1.2 DEFINITION OF EMBANKMENT AND DRAINS
The embankment and the drains are dened in the Structures mode. To dene the
embankment layers:
Reorientate the model such that the front view is displayed by clicking the
corresponding button in the toolbar.
Create a surface by dening points at (0 0 0), (0 0 4), (8 0 4) and (20 0 0).
Create a line passing through (0 0 2) and (14 0 2) to dene the embankment layers.
Select both the created line and surface by keeping the <Ctrl> key pressed while
clicking them in the model.
Click the Extrude object button.
Assign a value of 2 to the y-component of the extrusion vector as shown in Figure
4.3 and click Apply.
Figure 4.3 Extrusion window
Delete the surface and the line created before the extrusion.
Right-click the volume created by extrusion and point to the Soil_4 option in the
appearing menu.
A new menu is displayed. Point to the Set material option and select Embankment.
In this project the effect of the drains on the consolidation time will be investigated by
comparing the results with a case without drains. Drains will only be active for the
calculation phases in the case with drains.
Drains are arranged in a square pattern, having a distance of 2 m between two
consecutive drains in a row (or column). Only one row of drains will be considered in this
tutorial. To create the drain pattern:
Click the Create hydraulic conditions button in the side toolbar.
Click the Create line drain button in the appearing menu. Dene a line drain in the
model between points (1 1 0) and (1 1 -6).
Click the Create array button to dene the drain pattern.
In the Create array window select the 1D, in x direction in the Shape drop-down
menu and specify the pattern as shown in Figure 4.4.
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Figure 4.4 Settings of the drain pattern
The model geometry is shown in Figure 4.5.
Figure 4.5 Model geometry
4.2 MESH GENERATION
Proceed to the Mesh mode.
Click the Generate mesh button. Set the element distribution to Coarse.
View the generated mesh. The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 4.6.
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.6 The generated mesh
4.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS
The embankment construction process will be considered twice. In the rst calculation
the drains will not be considered.
Initial phase
In the initial situation the embankment is not present. Therefore, the corresponding soil
volumes are deactivated in the initial phase. The K0 procedure can be used to calculate
the initial stresses. The initial water pressures are fully hydrostatic and based on a
general phreatic level dened by the Head value assigned to the boreholes. For the Initial
phase, the Phreatic option is selected for the pore pressure calculation type and the
Global water level is set to BoreholeWaterlevel_1 corresponding to the water level
dened by the heads specied for the boreholes.
The boundary conditions for ow can be specied in the Model conditions subtree in the
Model explorer. In the current situation the left vertical boundary (Xmin) must be closed
because of symmetry, so horizontal ow should not occur. The bottom is open because
the excess pore pressures can freely ow into the deep and permeable sand layer. The
upper boundary is obviously open as well. The view of the GroundwaterFlow subtree
after the denition is given in Figure 4.7.
Figure 4.7 Boundary conditions for groundwater ow
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4.3.1 CONSOLIDATION ANALYSIS
A consolidation analysis introduces the dimension of time in the calculations. In order to
correctly perform a consolidation analysis a proper time step must be selected. The use
of time steps that are smaller than a critical minimum value can result in stress
oscillations. The consolidation option in PLAXIS allows for a fully automatic time stepping
procedure that takes this critical time step into account. Within this procedure there are
three main possibilities for the Loading type parameter:
1. Consolidate for a predened period, including the effects of changes to the active
geometry (Staged construction).
2. Consolidate until all excess pore pressures in the geometry have reduced to a
predened minimum value (Minimum pore pressure).
3. Consolidate until the soil has reached a specied degree of consolidation (Degree of
consolidation).
Consolidation process - No drains
The embankment construction is divided into two phases. After the rst construction
phase a consolidation period of 30 days is introduced to allow the excess pore pressures
to dissipate. After the second construction phase another consolidation period is
introduced from which the nal settlements may be determined. Hence, a total of four
calculation phases have to be dened besides the initial phase.
To dene the calculation phases, follow these steps:
Phase 1:
Click the Add phase button to introduce the rst construction phase.
In the General subtree select the Consolidation option in the Calculation type
drop-down menu.
The Loading type is by default set to Staged construction. This option will be used
for this phase.
The Phreatic option is automatically selected for the pore pressure calculation type.
Note that the global water level for a calculation phase can be dened in the Water
subtree available under the Model conditions in the Model explorer.
Specify a value of 2 days to the Time interval and click OK to close the Phases
window.
In the Staged construction mode activate the rst part of the embankment.
Click the Add phase button to introduce the next calculation phase.
Phase 2: The second phase is also a Consolidation analysis. In this phase no changes
to the geometry are made as only a consolidation analysis to ultimate time is required.
Dene the calculation type as Consolidation.
Specify a value of 30 days to the Time interval. The default values of the other
parameters are used for this phase.
Click the Add phase button to introduce the next calculation phase.
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Phase 3:
Dene the calculation type as Consolidation.
Specify a value of 1 day to the Time interval. The default values of the other
parameters are used.
In the Staged construction mode activate the second part of the embankment.
Click the Add phase button to introduce the next calculation phase.
Phase 4: The fourth phase is a Consolidation analysis to a minimum pore pressure.
Dene the calculation type as Consolidation.
Select the Minimum pore pressure option in the Loading type drop-down menu. The
default value for the minimum pressure (|P-stop| = 1.0 kN/m
2
) as well as the default
values for other parameters are used.
The denition of the calculation phases is complete.
Before starting the calculation, click the Select points for curves button and select
the following points: As Point A, select the toe of the embankment. The second
point (Point B) will be used to plot the development (and decay) of excess pore
pressures. To this end, a point somewhere in the middle of the soft soil layers is
needed, close to (but not actually on) the left boundary.
Start the calculation.
During a consolidation analysis the development of time can be viewed in the upper part
of the calculation info window (Figure 4.8). In addition to the multipliers, a parameter
P
max
occurs, which indicates the current maximum excess pore pressure. This
parameter is of interest in the case of a Minimum pore pressure consolidation analysis,
where all pore pressures are specied to reduce below a predened value.
Figure 4.8 Calculation progress displayed in the Active tasks window
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4.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS
After the calculation has nished, select the third phase and click the View
calculation results button. The Output window now shows the deformed mesh after
the undrained construction of the nal part of the embankment (Figure 4.9). Considering
the results of the third phase, the deformed mesh shows the uplift of the embankment toe
and hinterland due to the undrained behaviour.
Figure 4.9 Deformed mesh after undrained construction of embankment (Phase 3, true scale)
In the Deformations menu select the Incremental displacements |u|.
Select the Arrows option in the View menu or click the corresponding button in the
toolbar to display the results arrows.
On evaluating the total displacement increments, it can be seen that a failure mechanism
is developing (Figure 4.10).
Figure 4.10 Displacement increments after undrained construction of embankment
Click <Ctrl> + <7> to display the developed excess pore pressures (see Appendix C
of Reference Manual for more shortcuts). They can be displayed by selecting the
corresponding option in the side menu displayed as the Pore pressures option is
selected in the Stresses menu.
Click the Center principal directions. The principal directions of excess pressures
are displayed at the center of each soil element. The results are displayed in Figure
4.11. It is clear that the highest excess pore pressure occurs under the embankment
centre.
Select Phase 4 in the drop down menu.
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.11 Excess pore pressures after undrained construction of embankment
Dene a vertical cross section passing through (0 1) and (60 1).
Click the Contour lines button in the toolbar to display the results as contours.
In the View menu select the Viewpoint option. The corresponding window pops up.
In the Viewpoint window select the Front view option as shown in Figure 4.12.
Figure 4.12 Viewpoint window
Use the Draw scanline button or the corresponding option in the View menu to
dene the position of the contour line labels.
Figure 4.13 Excess pore pressure contours after consolidation to P
excess
< 1.0 kN/m
2
It can be seen that the settlement of the original soil surface and the embankment
increases considerably during the fourth phase. This is due to the dissipation of the
excess pore pressures (= consolidation), which causes further settlement of the soil.
Figure 4.13 shows the remaining excess pore pressure distribution after consolidation.
Check that the maximum value is below 1.0 kN/m
2
.
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The Curves manager can be used to view the development, with time, of the excess pore
pressure under the embankment. In order to create such a curve, follow these steps:
Click the Curves manager button in the toolbar. The corresponding window pops up.
In the Charts tabsheet click New. The Curve generation window pops up
For the x-axis, select the Project option from the drop-down menu and select Time
in the tree.
For the y-axis select the point in the middle of the soft soil layers (Point B) from the
drop-down menu. In the tree select Stresses Pore pressure p
excess
.
Select the Invert sign option for y-axis.
Click the Ok to generate the curve.
Click the Settings button in the toolbar. The Settings window will appear displaying
the tabsheet of the created curve.
Click the Phases button and select the phases 1 to 4 in the appearing window.
Rename the curve by typing 'Phases 1 - 4' in the Curve title cell.
Click Apply to update the plot.
Save the chart.
Hint: To display the legend inside the chart area right-click on the name of the
chart, point to the View option and select the Legend in chart option in the
appearing menu.
Figure 4.14 Development of excess pore pressure under the embankment
Figure 4.14 clearly shows the four calculation phases. During the construction phases
the excess pore pressure increases with a small increase in time while during the
consolidation periods the excess pore pressure decreases with time. In fact,
consolidation already occurs during construction of the embankment, as this involves a
small time interval.
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4.5 SAFETY ANALYSIS
In the design of an embankment it is important to consider not only the nal stability, but
also the stability during the construction. It is clear from the output results that a failure
mechanism starts to develop after the second construction phase.
It is interesting to evaluate a global safety factor at this stage of the problem, and also for
other stages of construction.
In structural engineering, the safety factor is usually dened as the ratio of the collapse
load to the working load. For soil structures, however, this denition is not always useful.
For embankments, for example, most of the loading is caused by soil weight and an
increase in soil weight would not necessarily lead to collapse. Indeed, a slope of purely
frictional soil will not fail in a test in which the self weight of the soil is increased (like in a
centrifuge test). A more appropriate denition of the factor of safety is therefore:
Safety factor =
Smaximum available
Sneeded for equilibrium
(4.1)
Where S represents the shear strength. The ratio of the true strength to the computed
minimum strength required for equilibrium is the safety factor that is conventionally used
in soil mechanics. By introducing the standard Coulomb condition, the safety factor is
obtained:
Safety factor =
c
n
tan
c
r
n
tan
r
(4.2)
Where c and are the input strength parameters and
n
is the actual normal stress
component. The parameters c
r
and
r
are reduced strength parameters that are just
large enough to maintain equilibrium. The principle described above is the basis of a
Safety analysis that can be used in PLAXIS to calculate a global safety factor. In this
approach the cohesion and the tangent of the friction angle are reduced in the same
proportion:
c
c
r
=
tan
tan
r
= Msf (4.3)
The reduction of strength parameters is controlled by the total multiplier Msf . This
parameter is increased in a step-by-step procedure until failure occurs. The safety factor
is then dened as the value of Msf at failure, provided that at failure a more or less
constant value is obtained for a number of successive load steps.
The Safety calculation option is available in the Calculation type drop-down menu in the
Phases window.
To calculate the global safety factor for the road embankment at different stages of
construction, follow these steps:
We rst want to calculate the safety factor after the rst construction stage. In the
Calculations program introduce a new calculation phase (Phase_5) and select
Phase 1 in the Start from phase drop-down menu.
In the General subtree, select Safety as calculation type.
The Loading type is automatically changed to Incremental multipliers. This is the
only option available for the Safety calculation type.
The rst increment of the multiplier that controls the strength reduction process, Msf,
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CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD EMBANKMENT
is set automatically to 0.1. This value will be used in this tutorial.
Note that the Use pressures from the previous phase option in the Pore pressure
calculation type drop-down menu is automatically selected and grayed out indicating
that this option cannot be changed
In order to exclude existing deformations from the resulting failure mechanism,
select the Reset displacements to zero option in the Deformation control parameters
subtree. The default values of all the remaining parameters will be used. The rst
safety calculation has now been dened.
Follow the same steps to create new calculation phases that analyse the stability at
the end of each consolidation phase. In addition to selecting Safety as calculation
type, select the corresponding consolidation phase as the Start from phase
parameter. The Phases explorer displaying the Safety calculation phases is shown
in Figure 4.15.
Calculate the safety phases.
Hint: The default value of Max steps in a Safety calculation is 100. In contrast to
an Staged construction calculation, the number of additional steps is always
fully executed. In most Safety calculations, 100 steps are sufcient to arrive
at a state of failure. If not, the number of steps can be increased to a
maximum of 10000.
For most Safety analyses Msf = 0.1 is an adequate rst step to start up the
process. During the calculation process, the development of the total
multiplier for the strength reduction, Msf , is automatically controlled by the
load advancement procedure.
Figure 4.15 Phases explorer displaying the Safety calculation phases
4.5.1 EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS - SAFETY
Additional displacements are generated during a Safety calculation. The total
displacements do not have a physical meaning, but the incremental displacements in the
nal step (at failure) give an indication of the likely failure mechanism.
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In order to view the mechanisms in the three different stages of the embankment
construction:
Select the last Safety phase and click the View calculation results button.
From the Deformations menu select Incremental displacements |u|.
Change the presentation from Arrows to Shadings. The resulting plots give a good
impression of the failure mechanisms (Figure 4.16). The magnitude of the
displacement increments is not relevant.
Figure 4.16 Shadings of the total displacement increments indicating the most applicable failure
mechanism of the embankment in the nal stage
The safety factor can be obtained from the Calculation info option of the Project menu.
The value of Msf represents the safety factor, provided that this value is indeed more or
less constant during the previous few steps.
The best way to evaluate the safety factor, however, is to plot a curve in which the
parameter Msf is plotted against the displacements of a certain node. Although the
displacements are not relevant, they indicate whether or not a failure mechanism has
developed.
In order to evaluate the safety factors for the three situations in this way, follow these
steps:
Click the Curves manager button in the toolbar.
Click New in the Charts tabsheet.
In the Curve generation window, select the embankment toe (Point A) for the x-axis.
Select Deformations Total displacements |u|.
For the y-axis, select Project and then select Multipliers Msf . The Safety
phases are considered in the chart. As a result, the curve of Figure 4.17 appears.
The maximum displacements plotted are not relevant. It can be seen that for all curves a
more or less constant value of Msf is obtained. Hovering the mouse cursor over a point
on the curves, a box showing the exact value of Msf can be obtained.
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CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD EMBANKMENT
Figure 4.17 Evaluation of safety factor
4.6 USING DRAINS
In this section the effect of the drains in the project will be investigated. The embankment
constructions will be redened by introducing four new phases having the same
properties as the rst four consolidation phases. The differences in the new phases are:
The drains should be active in all the new phases.
The Time interval in the rst three of the consolidation phases (1 to 3) is 1 day. The
last phase is set to Minimum pore pressure and a value of 1.0 kN/m
2
is assigned to
the minimum pressure (|P-stop|).
After the calculation is nished, select the last phase and click the View calculation
results button. The Output window now shows the deformed mesh after the drained
construction of the nal part of the embankment. In order to compare the effect of the
drains, the excess pore pressure dissipation in node B can be used.
Open the Curves manager.
In the Chart tabsheet double click Chart 1 (p
excess
of node B versus time). The chart
is displayed. Close the Curves manager.
Click the Settings button in the toolbar. The Settings window pops up.
Click the Add curve button and select the Add from current project option in the
appearing menu. The Curve generation window pops up.
Hint: Instead of adding a new curve, the existing curve can be regenerated using
the corresponding button in the Curves settings window.
Select the Invert sign option for y-axis.
Click OK to accept the selected options and close the Curve generation window.
In the chart a new curve is added and a new tabsheet corresponding to it is opened
in the Settings window.
Click the Phases button. From the displayed window select the Initial phase and the
last four phases (drains) and click OK.
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In the Settings click Apply to preview the generated curve.
Click OK to close the Settings window. The chart (Figure 4.18) gives a clear view of
the effect of drains in the time required for the excess pore pressures to dissipate.
Figure 4.18 Effect of drains
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PHASED EXCAVATION OF A SHIELD TUNNEL
5 PHASED EXCAVATION OF A SHIELD TUNNEL
The lining of a shield tunnel is often constructed using prefabricated concrete ring
segments, which are bolted together within the tunnel boring machine to form the tunnel
lining. During the erection of the tunnel lining the tunnel boring machine (TBM) remains
stationary. Once a tunnel lining ring has been fully erected, excavation is resumed, until
enough soil has been excavated to erect the next lining ring. As a result, the construction
process can be divided in construction stages with a length of a tunnel ring, often about
1.5 m long. In each of these stages the same steps are repeated over and over again.
In order to model this, a geometry consisting of slices each 1.5 m long can be used. The
calculation consists of a number of Plastic phases, each of which models the same parts
of the excavation process: the support pressure at the tunnel face needed to prevent
active failure at the face, the conical shape of the TBM shield, the excavation of the soil
and pore water within the TBM, the installation of the tunnel lining and the grouting of the
gap between the soil and the newly installed lining. In each phase the input for the
calculation phase is identical, except for its location, which will be shifted by 1.5 m each
phase.
nal lining
grout
pressure
TBM
contraction of shield
C = 0.5% C
ref
= 0.5%
C
inc,axial
= 0.0667%
Figure 5.1 Construction stages of a shield tunnel model
5.1 GEOMETRY
In the model, only one symmetric half is included. The model is 20 m wide, it extends 80
m in the y direction and it is 20 m deep. These dimensions are sufcient to allow for any
possible collapse mechanism to develop and to avoid any inuence from the model
boundaries.
When starting PLAXIS 3D set the proper model dimensions in the Project properties
window, that is x
min
= -20, x
max
= 0, y
min
= 0 and y
max
= 80.
5.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY
The subsoil consists of three layers. The soft upper sand layer is 2 m deep and extends
from the ground surface to Mean Sea Level (MSL). Below the upper sand layer there is a
clay layer of 12 m thickness and this layer is underlain by a stiff sand layer that extends to
a large depth. Only 6 m of the stiff sand layer is included in the model. Hence, the bottom
of the model is 18 m below MSL. Soil layer is assumed to be horizontal throughout the
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model and so just one borehole is sufcient to describe the soil layers. The present
groundwater head corresponds to the MSL.
Press the Create borehole button and click at the origin of the system of axis to
create a borehole at (0 0 0). The Modify soil layers window will open.
Dene 3 layers: Upper sand with the top at 2 m and the bottom at 0 m, Clay with the
bottom at -12 m and Stiff sand with the bottom at -18 m.
Open the materials database by clicking the Materials button and create the data
sets for the soil layers and the nal concrete lining in the tunnel as specied in Table
5.1.
Table 5.1 Material properties for the soil layers
Parameter Name Upper sand Clay Stiff sand Concrete Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Linear elastic
Drainage type Type Drained Drained Drained Non porous
Unit weight above
phreatic level
unsat
17.0 16.0 17.0 27.0 kN/m
3
Unit weight below
phreatic level
sat
20.0 18.0 20.0 kN/m
3
Parameters
Young'modulus E' 1.3 10
4
1.0 10
4
7.5 10
4
3.1 10
7
kN/m
2
Poisson's ratio ' 0.3 0.35 0.3 0.1
Cohesion c'
ref
1.0 5.0 1.0 kN/m
2
Friction angle ' 31 25 31
Dilatancy angle 0 0 0
Interfaces
Interface strength Rigid Rigid Rigid Rigid
Initial
K
0
determination Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic
Assign the material data sets to the corresponding soil layers (Figure 5.2) and close
the Modify soil layers window. The concrete data set will be assigned later.
Figure 5.2 Soil layer distribution
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PHASED EXCAVATION OF A SHIELD TUNNEL
5.1.2 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
The tunnel excavation is carried out by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) which is 9.0 m
long and 8.5 m in diameter.
Create tunnel surfaces
In Structures mode both the geometry of the tunnel and the TBM will be dened. This is
done by creating a polycurve contouring the outside of the tunnel at the inlet of the tunnel:
Click the Create polycurve button in the side toolbar.
Click anywhere on the draw area to dene the insertion point. The Shape designer
window pops up.
In the General tabsheet the default option for shape, (Free) is valid for this
polycurve.
The polycurve is drawn in the xz-plane. Select the Z-axis option in the drop-down
menu for the Orientation axis 2 (Section 5.2.3 of Reference Manual). A screenshot
of the General tabsheet after the proper assignment is given in Figure 5.3.
Figure 5.3 General tabsheet of the Shape designer
Proceed to the Segments tabsheet.
Click Add to introduce a new segment.
Change the segment type by selecting the Arc option in the Segment type
drop-down menu.
Assign a value of 180
.
The Discretisation angle is by default set to 5
.
The Discretisation angle is by default set to 5
Length = 0.5 m
Discretization angle = 5
Right-click the polycurve and select the Create surface option from the appearing
menu.
Right-click the created surface and select the Create surface load option in the
appearing menu.
In the Selection explorer, click the plus sign (+) in front of SurfaceLoad to extend the
tree.
The Uniform distribution is valid. Assign (0 0 -8) to the pressure components.
Denition of dynamic multipliers
Dynamic loads are dened on the basis of input values of loads or prescribed
displacements and corresponding time-dependent multipliers.
To create the multipliers of the dynamic load:
In the Model explorer expand the Attributes library subtree.
Right-click the Dynamic multipliers subtree and select the Edit option from the
appearing menu. The Multipliers window pops up.
Click the Load multipliers tab.
Click Add button to introduce a multiplier for the loads.
Dene a Harmonic signal with an Amplitude of 10, a Frequency of 10 Hz and a
Phase of 0
0.7
0.722G
0
G used
Figure 8.2 Modulus reduction curves for the upper clayey layer
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20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
S
h
e
a
r
m
o
d
u
l
u
s
Shear strain
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
G
t
Gs
0.7
0.722G
0
G used
Figure 8.3 Modulus reduction curve for the lower sandy layer
In the HS small model, the tangent shear modulus is bounded by a lower limit, G
ur
.
G
ur
=
E
ur
2(1 +
ur
)
The values of G
ref
ur
for the Upper clayey layer and Lower sandy layer and the ratio to G
ref
0
are shown in Table 8.2. This ratio determines the maximum damping ratio that can be
obtained.
Table 8.2 G
ur
values and ratio to G
ref
0
Parameter Unit Upper clayey
layer
Lower sandy
layer
G
ur
kN/m
2
39517 41167
G
ref
0
/G
ur
- 6.75 2.5
Figures 8.4 and 8.5 show the damping ratio as a function of the shear strain for the
material used in the model. For a more detailed description and elaboration from the
modulus reduction curve to the damping curve can be found in the literature
.
0
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
D
a
m
p
i
n
g
r
a
t
i
o
Cyclic shear strain
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Figure 8.4 Damping curve for the upper clayey layer
Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Kappert, M.H., Bonnier, P.G. (2007). Hysteretic damping in small-strain stiffness model. In
Proc. 10th Int. Conf. on Comp. Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. Rhodes, Greece, 737 742
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0
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
D
a
m
p
i
n
g
r
a
t
i
o
Cyclic shear strain
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Figure 8.5 Damping curve for the lower sandy layer
8.1.3 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
The structural elements of the model are dened in the Structures mode. To dene the
structure:
Dene a surface passing through the points (-5 0 -2), (5 0 -2), (5 3 -2) and (-5 3 -2).
Create a copy of the surface by dening an 1D array in z-direction. Set the number
of the columns to 2 and the distance between them to 2 m.
Select the created surface at z = 0 and dene a 1D array in the z-direction. Set the
number of the columns to 6 and the distance between consecutive columns to 3 m.
Dene a surface passing through the points (5 0 -2), (5 3 -2), (5 3 15) and (5 0 15).
Create a copy of the vertical surface by dening an 1D array in x-direction. Set the
number of the columns to 2 and the distance between them to -10 m.
Multiselect the vertical surfaces and the horizontal surface located at z = 0.
Right-click on the selection and select the Intersect and recluster option from the
appearing menu. It is important to do the intersection in the Structures mode as
different material data sets are to be assigned to the basement and the rest of the
building.
Select all the created surfaces representing the building (basement, oors and
walls), right-click and select the Create plate option from the appearing menu.
Dene the material dataset for the plates representing the structure according to
Table 8.3. Note that two different material datasets are used for the basement and
the rest of the building respectively.
Assign the Basement material dataset to the horizontal plate located at z = -2 and
the vertical plates located under the ground level.
Assign the corresponding material dataset to the rest of the plates in the model.
In order to model the soil-structure intersection at the basement of the building assign
interfaces to the outer side of the basement. Note that depending on the local coordinate
system of the surfaces an interface either positive or negative is assigned.
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Table 8.3 Material properties of the building (plate properties)
Parameter Name Rest of building Basement Unit
Thickness d 0.3 0.3 m
Material weight 33.33 50 kN/m
3
Material behaviour - Linear; Isotropic Linear; Isotropic -
Youngs modulus E
1
310
7
310
7
kN/m
2
Poissons ratio
12
0 0 -
Rayleigh damping
0.2320 0.2320 -
810
-3
810
-3
-
The central column of the structure is modelled using the Node-to-node anchor feature.
To create the central column of the structure:
Create a Line through points (0 1.5 -2) and (0 1.5 0) corresponding to the column in
the basement oor.
Create a Line through points (0 1.5 0) and (0 1.5 3) corresponding to the column in
the rst oor.
Create a copy of the last dened line by dening an 1D array in z-direction. Set the
number of the columns to 5 and the distance between them to 3 m.
Select the created lines, right-click and select the Create node-to-node anchor
option from the appearing menu.
Create the material dataset according to the Table 8.4 and assign it to the anchors.
Table 8.4 Material properties of the node-to-node anchor
Parameter Name Column Unit
Material type Type Elastic -
Normal stiffness EA 2.5 10
6
kN
A static lateral force of 1 kN/m is applied laterally at the top left corner of the building. To
create the load:
Create a line load passing through (-5 0 15) and (-5 3 15).
Specify the components of the load as (10 0 0).
The earthquake is modelled by imposing a prescribed displacement at the bottom
boundary. To dene the prescribed displacement:
Create a surface prescribed displacement passing through (-80 0 -40), (80 0 -40),
(80 3 -40) and (-80 3 -40).
Specify the x-component of the prescribed displacement as Prescribed and assign
a value of 1.0. The y and z components of the prescribed displacement are Fixed.
The default distribution (Uniform) is valid.
To dene the dynamic multipliers for the prescribed displacement:
In the Model explorer extend the Attributes library subtree. Right-click on Dynamic
multipliers and select the Edit option from the appearing menu. The Multipliers
window pops up displaying the Displacement multipliers tabsheet.
To add a multiplier click the corresponding button in the Multipliers window.
From the Signal drop-down menu select the Table option.
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The le containing the earthquake data is available in the PLAXIS knowledge base
(http://kb.plaxis.nl/search/site/smc). Copy all the data to a text editor le (e.g.
Notepad) and save the le in your computer.
Open the page in the web browser and copy all the data.
In the Multipliers window click the Open button and select the saved le. In the
Import data window select the Strong motion CD-ROM les option from the Parsing
method drop-down menu and press OK to close the window.
In the Dynamic multipliers window the table and the plot of the data is displayed
(Figure 8.6).
Select the Acceleration option in the Data type drop-down menu.
Select the Drift correction options and click OK to nalize the denition of the
multiplier.
In the Model explorer extend the Surface displacements subtree and assign the
DisplacementMultiplier_1 to the x- component by selecting the option in the
drop-down menu.
Figure 8.6 Dynamic multipliers window
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8.2 MESH GENERATION
Proceed to the Mesh mode.
Click the Generate mesh button. Set the element distribution to Fine.
View the generated mesh (Figure 8.7).
Figure 8.7 Geometry and mesh
8.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS
The calculation process consists of the initial conditions phase, simulation of the
construction of the building, loading, free vibration analysis and earthquake analysis.
Initial phase
Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with denition of the calculation
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. The default settings of the initial
phase will be used in this tutorial.
In the Staged construction mode check that the building and load are inactive.
Phase 1
Add a new phase (Phase_1). The default settings of the added phase will be used
for this calculation phase.
In the Staged construction mode construct the building (activate all the plates, the
interfaces and the anchors) and deactivate the basement volume (Figure 8.8).
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Figure 8.8 Construction of the building
Phase 2
Add a new phase (Phase_2).
In the Phases window select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation
control parameters subtree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be
used in this calculation phase.
In the Staged construction mode activate the line load. The value of the load is
already dened in the Structures mode.
Phase 3
Add a new phase (Phase_3).
In the Phases window select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
Set the Time interval parameter to 5 sec.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the line load.
In the Model explorer extend the Model conditions subtree.
Extend the Dynamics subtree. By default the boundary conditions in the x and y
directions are set to viscous. Select the None option for the boundaries in the y
direction. Set the boundary Zmin to viscous (Figure 8.9).
Hint: For a better visualisation of the results, animations of the free vibration and
earthquake can be created. If animations are to be created, it is advised to
increase the number of the saved steps by assigning a proper value to the
Max steps saved parameter in the Parameters tabsheet of the Phases
window.
Phase 4
Add a new phase (Phase_3).
In the Phases window set the Start from phase option to Phase 1 (construction of
building).
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Figure 8.9 Boundary conditions for Dynamic calculations
Select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 20 sec.
Select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation control parameters
subtree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used in this
calculation phase.
In the Model explorer activate the Surface displacement and its dynamic
component. The Zmin boundary is NOT viscous in this phase.
Select points for load displacement curves at (0 1.5 15), (0 1.5 6), (0 1.5 3) and (0
1.5 -2). The calculation may now be started.
8.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS
Figure 8.10 shows the deformed structure at the end of the Phase 2 (application of
horizontal load). Figure 8.11 shows the time history of displacements of the selected
points A (0 1.5 15), B (0 1.5 6), C (0 1.5 3) and D (0 1.5 -2) for the free vibration phase. It
may be seen from the gure that the vibration slowly decays with time due to damping in
the soil and in the building.
In the Chart tabsheet of the Settings window select the Use frequency representation
(spectrum) and Use standard frequency (Hz) options in the Dynamics box. The plot is
shown in Figure 8.12. From this gure it can be evaluated that the dominant building
frequency is around 1 Hz. For a better visualisation of the results animations of the free
vibration and earthquake can be created.
Figure 8.13 shows the time history of displacements of the point A (0 1.5 15) for the
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Figure 8.10 Deformed mesh of the system
Figure 8.11 Time history of displacements (Free vibration)
earthquake phase. It may be seen from the gure that the vibration slowly decays with
time due to damping in the soil and in the building.
The time history signature of the earthquake has been transformed to normalized power
spectra through Fast Fourier transform and is plotted in Figure 8.14.
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Figure 8.12 Frequency representation (spectrum - Free vibration)
Figure 8.13 Time history of displacements of the top of the building (Earthquake)
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Figure 8.14 Acceleration power spectra at (0 1.5 15)
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APPENDIX A - MENU TREE
APPENDIX A - MENU TREE
A.1 INPUT MENU
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APPENDIX A - MENU TREE
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TUTORIAL MANUAL
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122 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 3D 2013
APPENDIX B - CALCULATION SCHEME FOR INITIAL STRESSES DUE TO SOIL WEIGHT
APPENDIX B - CALCULATION SCHEME FOR INITIAL STRESSES DUE TO SOIL
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Start
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Total multipliers
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PLAXIS 3D 2013 | Tutorial Manual 123
TUTORIAL MANUAL
124 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 3D 2013